Cape Town - Recently released key findings from a survey launched by civil society movement Amandla.Mobi in October on the R350 SRD grants applications has shown the need for Sassa’s urgent intervention.
Findings from the survey showed more than half of those who applied for the grant were unsuccessful.
Most had their applications rejected or could not send their application due to technical issues with the SA Security Agency’s (Sassa’s) system.
Nearly 40% of people said they had to find or borrow money for airtime or data to apply, while many unemployed people have had their R350 applications “unfairly” rejected.
The grant will be paid until the end of March next year.
Amandla.Mobi said that for months grant applicants and recipients had been demanding that Sassa fix the flaws with the grant system as this was a matter of survival for many people and that these demands could not fall on deaf ears any longer.
They recommended that Sassa make the R350 grant system more efficient and user-friendly, both online and off-line, have consistent payout dates, and improve communication with grant recipients/beneficiaries.
It also recommended that Sassa create friendly and accessible alternatives for those who cannot apply online or access offices, improve language use for non-English speaking people, and hire staff and improve the efficiency of its call centre.
Black Sash senior paralegal-fieldworker Jonathan Walton said Sassa must urgently resolve these challenges so that the grant was more efficiently disbursed given the growing food insecurity and hunger crisis faced by the country's most vulnerable.
Walton said the various government databases that Sassa relied on must urgently be brought up to date.
“Many Covid-19 SRD applicants have contacted the Black Sash explaining that they do not have any other sources of income as claimed by Sassa and are unable to successfully appeal this decision.
“Appealing an unfair outcome for an application is often a time-consuming and unaffordable process for many of the unemployed applicants, given the data costs required to both apply and then also appeal the outcome,” he said.